Fisherman&#39;s float with automatic depth control



Oct. 9, 1962 R. A. FINNICUM 3,057,107

FISHERMANS FLOAT WITH AUTOMATIC DEPTH CONTROL Filed July 14, 1960 INVENTOR. RoyH. Hmcum, M B. W

r 3,357,167 Patented Get. 9, 1962 3,057,107 FISI ERMANS FLOAT WTTH AUTUMATIC DEPTH CONTROL Roy A. Finnicum, 342 N. Lynhurst Drive, Indianapolis, Ind, Filed July 14, 1960, Ser. No. 42,817 Claims. (Cl. 43-4311) The present invention relates to a fishermans float, and is particularly concerned with the provision of means whereby a bait-carrying hook may be cast to a suitable distance from the fishermans position and will then be automatically lowered to a predetermined depth below the surface of the water for still fishing.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a device whereby the above operation will be accomplished and wherein the construction is such that, as the fisherman reels in his line, the baited hook will be drawn to the surface of the water as the device is drawn toward the pole tip.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described in which the hook-carrying portion of the fishermans line will have a mechanical advantage, within the device, over that portion of the line which leads from the device to the rod, thereby facilitating the lowering of the baited hook after the device has come to rest upon the surface of the water.

Still further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

PEG. 1 is an elevation of a device constructed in accordance with the present invention floating upon the water, the extended hook-carrying line being broken;

FIG. 2 is a section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the rotor constituting an element of my float, showing the manner in which the two line portions are wound thereon; and

FIG. 5 is a section taken substantially on the line 55 of FIG. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

As is most clearly illustrated in FIG. 2, my float cornprises a buoyant element which, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, preferably takes the form of a hollow ball defining a water-proof air chamber 11 therewithin. Formed upon a common axis are two outwardly-opening grooves 12 and 13, the radial depth of the groove 12 exceeding that of the groove 13. At diametrically opposite points on the axis which is common to the grooves 12 and 13, the ball is formed with studs or trunnions i4 and 15.

The grooves 12 and 13 are separated by a radially extending flange or partition 16 which is provided with a plurality of angularly spaced, radially extending slots. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, said partition is formed with four such slots, 17, 18, 19 and 20, equally spaced about the periphery of the partition; and the four slots are open at their outer ends.

Said float further comprises a shroud indicated generally by the reference numeral 21 and comprising an interrupted ring-like body 22 the opposite ends 23 and 24 of which are, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, separated by something less than 90. The shroud 21 is formed of resilient material having suflicient elasticity to permit flexure of the body 22 to a degree sulficient to enter the studs 14 and 15 respectively in diametrically opposite sockets 25 and 26 formed in the interior of the body 22. As is clearly shown in FlG. 2, the socket 25 is formed closely adjacent the ring end 23, while the socket 26 is directly diametrically opposite the socket 25. When the studs are so mounted in said socket, of course the ball 10 is journalled for free rotation within the shroud 21.

While either or both of the elements 10 and 21 may be formed of metal or other suitable material, I prefer to form them both from any one ofthe well-known, commercially available synthetic plastic materials which have the advantage of lightness, while possessing also the resiliency necessary to permit the mounting and removal of the ball it as above described.

Closely adjacent its end 24, the shroud 21 is formed with an eye 27 the inner mouth of which is, as illustrated in PEG. .2, disposed substantially in the plane which perpendicularly bisects the axial length of the groove 13. Because of the gap between the ends 23 and 24 of the ring, the shroud 21 is not balanced symmetrically with respect to the axis defined by the sockets 25 and 26, but will tend to float, when the ball 10 is mounted therein, in the attitude illustrated in FIG. 2. A hollow post 23, having a passage 23 extending longitudinally therethrough, is formed to project from the outer surface of the body 22 at a point such that, when the float is resting on the water, the axis of the post 28 will be substantially vertical. The inner end of the passage 29 is located substantially in the plane which perpendicularly bisects the axial length of the groove 12.

A section of line 30, hereinafter called the out-line, is adapted to be anchored relative to the groove 13 and to be wound within said groove whose inner wall 35 may be referred to as a spool. One advantageous way of so anchoring the line 30 is to tie a simple knot 31 in an end of such line and pass the line through one of the slots in the partition 16, such as the slot 17, with the knot lying within the groove 13. The line is then led, within the groove 12, to the next adjacent slot 18 and brought back through that slot into the groove 13. Thereupon, any desired number of turns of the line may be wrapped on the spool 35, and the opposite end of the line will be passed through the eye 27, whereafter a sinker 32 and hook 33 may be attached to the depending end of the line, with or without an intervening snell. Preferably, the groove 13 should not be filled with line to a depth greater than three-fourths of its capacity.

The line 34, hereinafter referred to as the rod-line will be anchored within the groove 12 whose internal wall 36 may be referred to as a spool. This may advantageously be done by threading the free end of the rod-line through the passage 29 in the post 28 and wrapping it two or three times around the spool 36. Then, tying a knot in the end of the rod-line, pass the line through one of the slots into the groove 13, lead it to the next adjacent slot and bring it back therethrough into the groove 12. Now. with the out-line fully wound on the spool 35, the rod-line should lead directly from the last-mentioned slot to and through the bore 2? of the post 28 and thence to the rod and reel.

With the parts in this condition, the rod-line 34 may now be reeled completely in until the distal end of the post 28 is closely adjacent the tip of the rod. Under these conditions, the entire device may be cast, just as an artificial lure would be cast, and depending upon the skill of the fisherman, the float assembly may be deposited at any desired point remote from the fishermans station, on the water. As soon as the float lands on the water, the weight of the equipment on the outer end of the outline will insure the upright position of the post 28; and,

the rod-line 34 being slack as suggested in FIG. 1, the

mechanical advantage of the spool 35 over the spool 36 will permit the tackle at the outer end of the line 30 to draw that line outwardly, rotating the ball It) upon its trunnions 14 and 15 as the line 30 unreels from the spool 35. Concurrently, of course, due to the anchorage of the line 34 on the spool 36, rod-line will be wound onto the latter spool; and this action will continue until the outline has been unreeled to the degree permitted by the point of its anchorage on the partition 16. A corresponding (though not equal) amount of rod-line will be wound on the spool 36, and in the opposite direction, as is indicated in FIG. 4.

When the fisherman desires to reel in his line, either to capture a fish which has been hooked or to cast the assembly to another location, the tendency of the application of tension to the line 34 will be to unreel that line from the spool 36, thus rotating the ball in a direction opposite the direction of its rotation as the out-line was payed out. Such rotation of the ball, of course, will reel in the out-line 30. At times, the whole assembly may be drawn substantially to the rod tip before such rotation of the ball 10 will occur; but ultimately, the rod-line 34 will be unreeled from the spool 36 and the out-line will be correspondingly reeled onto the spool 35, drawing the weight 32 up against the end 24 of the shroud body 22.

It may sometimes be desirable to suspend the hook 33 at a depth below the float which is less than the total length of out-line wrapped on the spool 35. To that end, the fisherman may draw off of the spool 35 whatever length of line he wishes to depend therefrom; and then, forming a bight in the out-line, pass the two arms of the bight respectively through adjacent slots such as 17 and 20, as suggested in FIG. 3, to leave the base of the bight within the groove 12. Such an arrangement, of course, will limit the amount of line drawn oil? the spool 35 by the tackle on the end of that line; and, when the portion of the line previously drawn off the spool 35 is reeled in, the equipment is ready for casting in the above described manner.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fishermans float comprising a hollow, Water-tight, buoyant rotor externally provided with coaxial, oppositely extending trunnions, said rotor being formed with a first peripheral groove and a second peripheral groove, said grooves being coaxial with said trunnions, and a shroud, said shroud comprising a discontinuous, partcircular ring in the form of a narrow band formed of resiliently flexible material and having peripherally separated ends, the internal surface of said ring being formed with a pair of diametrically-opposed sockets for the reception of said trunnions to provide a journal connection between said shroud and said rotor, one of said sockets being disposed closely adjacent one free end of said shroud, whereby fiexure of said shroud to increase the peripheral distance between said free ends results in axial separation of said sockets to disengage said trunnions.

2. A fishermans float comprising a hollow, watertight, buoyant rotor externally provided with coaxial, oppositely extending trunnions, said rotor being formed with a first peripheral groove and a second peripheral groove, said grooves being coaxial with said trunnions, and a shroud, said shroud comprising a discontinuous, partcircular ring in the form of a narrow band of flexible material formed to provide separated, free ends peripherally spaced from each other, the internal surface of said ring being formed with a pair of diametrically-opposed sockets for the reception of said trunnions to provide a journal connection between said shroud and said rotor, one of said sockets being located closely adjacent one of said free ends, whereby flexure of said shroud to increase the peripheral distance between said free ends results in axial separation of said sockets to disengage said trunnions, said shroud further being formed with an eye opening therethrough on a line which is substantially radial with respect to said ring, the inner end of said eye being disposed substantially in the plane perpendicularly bisecting the axial width of said first groove when said rotor trunnions are received in said sockets, and a tubular post projecting substantially radially outwardly from said ring at a point substantially diametrically opposite said eye, the inner end of said tubular post being disposed substantially in the plane perpendicularly bisecting the axial Width of said second groove when said rotor trunnions are so received.

3. A fishermans float comprising a hollow, water-tight, buoyant rotor externally provided with coaxial, oppositely extending trunnions, said rotor being formed with a first peripheral groove and a second peripheral groove, said grooves being coaxial with said trunnions, and a shroud, said shroud comprising a part-circular ring of flexible material, the internal surface of said ring being formed with a pair of diametrically-opposed sockets for the reception of said trunnions to provide a journal connection between said shroud and said rotor, said shroud further being formed with an eye opening therethrough on a line which is substantially radial with respect to said ring, the inner end of said eye being disposed substantially in the plane perpendicularly bisecting the axial width of said first groove when said rotor trunnions are received in said sockets, and a tubular post projecting substantially radially outwardly from said ring at a point substantially diametrically opposite said eye, the inner end of said tubular post being disposed substantially in the plane perpendicularly bisecting the axial width of said second groove when said rotor trunnions are so received, said eye being disposed closely adjacent one end of said shroud and one of said sockets being disposed closely adjacent the other end of said shroud, the flexible material of said shroud being resilient, and said post being so located closer to said one socket than to the other socket that, when said float is buoyantly supported in Water, said post will stand substantially vertically upright.

4. A fishermans float comprising a hollow, watertight, buoyant rotor element, said rotor element being formed with a first peripheral groove and a second peripheral groove, and a shroud element comprising a discontinuous, part-circular ring in the form of a narrow band formed of resiliently-flexible material having its free ends peripherally spaced from each other, one of said elements being provided with a pair of coaxial trunnions and the other of said elements being provided with a pair of coaxial sockets for the reception of said trunnions to provide a journal connection means mounting said rotor element on said shroud element upon the common axis of said grooves, one of the pair of journal providing means on said shroud being disposed closely adjacent one free end of said shroud and the other of said pair being diametrically spaced therefrom, whereby fiexure of said shroud to increase the peripheral distance between said free ends results in axial separation of said sockets to disengage said trunnions.

5. A fishermans float comprising a hollow, watertight, buoyant rotor element, said rotor element being formed with a first peripheral groove and a second peripheral groove, and a shroud element comprising a part-circular ring of resiliently flexible material, one of said elements being formed with a pair of coaxial trunnions and the other of said elements being formed with a pair of coaxial sockets for the reception of said trunnions to provide a journal connection between said shroud element and said rotor element upon the common axis of said grooves, said shroud further being formed with an eye opening therethrough on a line which is substantially radial with respect to said ring, the inner end of said eye being disposed substantially in the plane perpendicularly bisecting the axial width of said first groove when said trunnions are received in said sockets, and a tubular post projecting substantially radially outwardly from said ring at a point substantially diametrically opposite said eye, the inner end of said tubular post being disposed substantially in the plane perpendicularly bisecting the axial width of said second groove when said trunnions are received in said sockets, said eye being disposed closely adjacent one end of said shroud and one portion of said journal connection being disposed closely adjacent the other end of said shroud, and said post being so located closer to said one portion of said journal connection than to the other portion thereof that, When said float is buoyantly supported in water, said post will stand substantially vertically upright.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

